The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
The present invention is directed a therapeutic system and method for flexing, extending, and generally exercising the metacarpal phalangeal joints of an affected hand. The system comprises a therapeutic glove that is configured to receive an affected hand and adjustably apply movement to the fingers and thumb in a first direction to form a flexion position, and a second direction to form an extension position.
The inventor is a therapist who works with patients having adversely affected and deformed hands. Specifically, the inventor was familiar with problems such as: hemiplegia, hemi paresis, trigger finger, complex regional pain syndrome, hand surgeries, developmental disabilities, spinal cord injuries, and other affections similarly limiting the normal functioning of the hands. Through years of experience, the inventor knew that these types of therapy patients may benefit more from bilateral proximal training, rather than from unilateral task oriented training.
The inventor recognized a problem in that the patients had difficulty gripping objects for daily activities, such as eating and personal hygiene. The patients also could not lift weights to develop their upper extremities. This required a flexion position for the metacarpal and phalangeal joints of an affected hand. The inventor also saw that patients who had cramping issues required the metacarpal and phalangeal joints to be stretched into an extension position, opposite of the flexion position.
Through additional research, the inventor learned that favorable therapies would result in the following: therapeutic exercises like passive flexion and extension of the fingers; facilitating effective grasping of activity of daily living utensils by the affected hands; facilitating effective grasping of therapeutic weights, therapeutic devices, and locomotion devices by the affected hands; facilitating the therapeutic use of static and dynamic hand splints; assisting in strengthening of affected upper extremities; assisting in performing isometric and isotonic therapeutic exercises of the upper extremities; assisting with stretching fingers with minimal pain on patients with complex regional pain syndrome; and assisting with flexion and extension of fingers of patients affected by hemiplegia, hemiparesis finger fractures, hand surgery, trigger finger, upper extremity spasticity, and contractures as seen on cerebral palsy and Spina Bifida.
To address these needs, the inventor initially developed a dynamic hand flexor-extensor assistive glove. The glove was dimensioned dot receive variously sized hands and maintain separation between the fingers and thumb. The glove included a body portion that defined the hand, a wrist portion that enabled entry of and disengagement of the hand, and a plurality of tubular finger elements that received the fingers and thumb from the hand.
Through experimentation, the inventor manipulated the glove, by adding elongated retraining members to the termini of the tubular finger members. The restraining members could be pulled in a forward or backward direction to exercise the metacarpal and phalangeal joints of the affected hand.
However, the inventor saw that the tubular finger elements would not stay in place. The inventor decided to add hook and loop fastening mechanisms to each section of the glove. The restraining members also integrated hook and loop fasteners. In this manner, the restraining member could be pulled and then held into place with a corresponding portion of the glove, as therapy dictated.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a therapeutic system and method for flexing, extending, and generally exercising the metacarpal and phalangeal joints of an affected hand.
Therapy systems and methods for affected hands have been utilized in the past; yet none with the characteristics of the present invention. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,667,466; 4,618,850; and 20140287882.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a therapeutic system and method flexes, extends, and exercises the metacarpal phalangeal and joints of an affected hand. The system comprises a therapeutic glove that receives an affected hand and adjustably applies movement to the fingers and thumb in a first forward direction to form a flexion position, and a second rearward direction to form an extension position. The position of the fingers and thumb as well as the amount of pressure applied is controlled by manipulating restraining members to pull and restrain the fingers and thumb and then attaching to a corresponding body and wrist portion on the glove. The extent of the pulling, including the pressure applied to the metacarpal and phalangeal joints, is fixed, adjustable, and easily releasable.